Fundamentals of being a Republican

The Republican party is one of two major political parties in the United States today. It is often referred to as the GOP or Grand Old Party, even though the Democratic party is older.

Founded in 1854, the Republican party is considered one of the powerhouses in U.S. history. Roughly 34 percent or 55 million registered American voters today identify themselves as Republican.

Between the two major parties, there have been 18 Republican presidents to 15 Democrats.

There are varying differences between the major American parties. Political views have always been a hot topic in our culture ever since the revolutionary war.

All the major parties agree that the well being of our country is first and foremost the most important issue, but how each party goes about implementing and protecting our rights can be quite different.

The Republican party has been traditionally weak when it comes to getting the minority vote. Self identified Republicans tend to have a higher education and thus earn more money than a lot of Democratic voters.

Personnel in the military have been largely identified as about two-thirds or 66% Republican. Geographically speaking, the Republican “base” is at is strongest in the South, Midwest, and Mountain west, while being it’s weakest among urban cities among the Northeast.

Republican voters have conservative views on many issues, this could be due to the fact that they are traditionally represented by older citizens. A good indicator of this would be in 2006 when the GOP won only 38% of voters aged 18-29. Men are the dominate force among Republican parties when compared to Democrats.

Now that we have some of the Republican base statistics cleared up, it’s time to discuss the issues that the GOP party believes in.

One of the main political views would be strong national defense. It is known that Republicans spend a lot on military and defensive measures. Democratization of middle eastern countries that are ruled by a dictatorship is one issue that is obviously something the party believes in.

President Bush made this clear when the war on terrorism was started after 9-11. While this is not a new issue, it is certainly one of the major story lines concerning international politics, and one that is being closely monitored now that we are in a Democratic administration with President Barrack Bema.

The environment has been a huge debate among the Democratic and Republican parties. Global warming is a topic that Al Gore, a noted democrat, has been trying to gain awareness for.

The Republican and Democratic parties have many differences, many of which I didn’t scratch the surface. The GOP is still a major driving force in American politics today and they continue to have influence among many citizens.